Tea Towels Roasting In The Microwave: Christmas Cookie Disaster Averted
Definitely not words you want to hear while you're baking/decorating Christmas cookies!
Yes, there was a little mishap involving a tea towel catching fire. Fortunately, everything turned out merry and bright.
This little party of three -- me, my daughter, Claire, and our friend, Bridget -- got off to a rocking start with holiday tunes cranked up and chilled dough rolling out beautifully. The kitchen smelled of sugar cookies and gingerbread baking. Heaven!
The timer on my oven stopped cold, so I started using the timer on the microwave. Caught up in the multi-tasking of making frosting, cutting out cookies and shaking sprinkles, I accidentally hit "start" cooking instead of the timer. Moments later, a tea towel I keep in the microwave (to make clean up easier) burst into flames and Bridget said: "Hey, where's that smoke coming from?"
"Maybe you should pour water on it?" my daughter suggested.
Of course, my trusty fire extinguisher was upstairs. So, I grabbed a box of baking soda and doused the blaze. So close.
Sadly, I think I killed my microwave. I've tried tripping the breaker a couple of times and it won't come back on. Guess I might have to ask Santa for something boringly practical this year. A new microwave and a second fire extinguisher please! And more tea towels too! I bought that one in Paris. Maybe Santa can slip an airline ticket into my stocking?
-- Leslie Kelly
Rowley on December 15, 2009 at 10:42 AM
I've been remarkably lucky with kitchen mishaps: some burns, a hot pyrex dish that exploded oven when I poured in non-boiling stock for basting a bird, etc. Mostly small potatoes stuff. But when I crunched through a few if my own bones with a knife while dicing country ham, there was a brief hiatus in kitchen exploits.
http://matthew-rowley.blogspot.com/2008/03/lacking-in-finger-department.html
Matt Linden on December 15, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Mortal after all! ;-)
Ben Rippel on December 15, 2009 at 02:36 PM
Keep an eye out at Fred Meyer. They had a "one day sale" last Saturday - a $120 microwave was $59.99.
Cathy on December 15, 2009 at 05:58 PM
I am so sorry for your loss! You made me laugh out loud after work tonight while reading about your microwave disaster. You might check K-Mart. I bought a new micro for $70. on Sunday. Good luck!
Glutenfree Chef on December 15, 2009 at 09:15 PM
Cutting a chocolate terrine with an electric knife and wondering why it was cutting properly... Because I was cutting the cord!
viagra online on March 05, 2010 at 11:30 AM
haha so funny, I have been laughing for over 10 minutes, the important thing is that you were all enjoying the moment...
Thanks for the post